Palmer exits Aston Martin as Stroll lines up Mercedes boss

Dr Andy Palmer

Aston Martin has dispensed with the services of its chief executive Andy Palmer.

The car manufacturer confirmed this morning that Palmer has left the business.

He will be replaced by Tobias Moers, who has been running the AMG arm of Mercedes Benz, on 1 August.  Keith Stanton, currently vice president and chief manufacturing operations officer, has been appointed interim chief operating officer to support the executive chairman, Lawrence Stroll.

Palmer took the iconic manufacturer public two years ago in an IPO worth £4.3bn. However, since then, the firm’s value has plummeted to £540m.

Stroll said:  “The Board has determined that now is the time for new leadership to deliver our plans. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Andy for his hard work, personal commitment and dedication to Aston Martin Lagonda since 2014. In that time the company has successfully renewed its core sports car range, with the DB11, Vantage and DBS Superleggera and has brought the brand’s first SUV, DBX to a point of readiness for deliveries to start in the summer.

“Furthermore, the development of the era-defining Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar has paved the way for the mid-engined range to come. I would also like to recognise his leadership through the current challenges and uncertainties presented by COVID-19.”

In a Tweet, Palmer said: “It has been an honour and pleasure to be part of the Aston Martin family & to have worked alongside some exceptional women & men. Thanks also to our customers & followers. Aston Martin exists because you believe, as I do, that this company represents something special. Thank you.”

Stroll added: “I am delighted to welcome Tobias to Aston Martin Lagonda. He is an exceptionally talented automotive professional and a proven business leader with a strong track record during his many years at Daimler AG, with whom we have a longstanding and successful technical and commercial partnership, which we look forward to continuing.

“Throughout his career he has delivered product expansion, strengthened brand positioning and improved profitability. He is the right leader for Aston Martin Lagonda as we implement our strategy for the business to achieve its full potential. Our ambition for the company is significant, clear and only matched by our determination to succeed.

“All of my and Tobias’ energy will be dedicated to building on the company’s inherent strengths, its brand, its engineering prowess, and the skills of its people to enable Aston Martin to become one of the pre-eminent luxury car brands in the world.”

Moers said: “I am truly excited to be joining Aston Martin Lagonda at this point of its development. I have always had a passion for performance cars and relish the chance to work for this iconic brand which I was close to on the technical side at the beginning of the partnership between the two companies.

“Following the arrival of Lawrence, as executive chairman, the significant investment from his Yew Tree Consortium, the completion of the equity raise and the reset, I believe that there is a significant opportunity to harness the strengths of the business to successfully deliver the planned product expansion and brand elevation. I am looking forward to working with Lawrence and the whole Aston Martin team to build a stronger business for our customers, our employees, our partners and our shareholders.”

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